The silence of the Clovious Castle was interrupted by the sound of Lucinia's footsteps that echoed as she walked towards the empty halls that led her towards the dining room.
*CRASH*
"Hm?" Lucinia stopped walking and turned towards the older man who stood stiffly a few feet away from her. "You broke our dinnerware."
"I— Your highness… you— " the old man stuttered as she looked at the stunning woman wearing a red gown. "Your highness…"
"Speak," she said softly. Lucinia had always been soft-spoken and gentle. She was planning to use this trait to avoid the suspicion of everyone.
"Are you— Are you going to visit the prince's abode wearing — "
"Of course, she will!" an older woman's voice echoed. Lucinia looked at the woman wearing a blue dress with an apron. Her neat braided hair and kind smile were enough for Lucinia to recognize the cook of this castle. Madam Liliana, the woman who also took care of her when she was still a child. She smiled at the older woman. "You look wonderful Lucinia. Would you like to have your breakfast in the dining room this time?"
Lucinia nodded in response. The previous Lucinia love to have her food inside her room, mainly because she found the long rectangular table in the dining room a little lonely. Madam Liliana smiled and sent a glare at the older man before she curtsied towards the princess and walked towards the dining room ahead of her.
Seeing this, Lucinia maintained the smile on her face and immediately went to the dining room and finished her breakfast. Since Lucinia cannot drink blood, her diet was mainly composed of meat and vegetables. Just like a normal human. Many people wondered who was she able to survive this long without the sustenance of blood. Even her father, the Vampire King, had been wondering why she was still alive.
"Let's go to the Prince's residence." She uttered after she cleaned herself. It was customary for Lucinia to eat before attending banquets as vampires only had blood in events like this. If she won't eat before attending a three hour-long banquet, she would faint from hunger.
"Your highness…" Madam Liliana gave her a worried look. "Are you certain that— Last time the prince consort made fun of you she had you drink some blood, and you fainted? If you— "
"Thank you for your concern, Madam Liliana." She suddenly reached out and held the woman's hands. The surprise in the older woman's eyes almost made Lucinia laughed. "I will be fine." Without waiting for her to react, she turned towards the older man earlier and asked him to act as her horseman today.
"Your highness but your knight."
"I no longer have one," she said in another soft tone. Smiling, Lucinia walked inside the carriage. "Let's go."
Seeing the carriage started to move away from the castle, Madam Liliana couldn't help but held her chest. The surprise she received today was too much. "Did you hear that?" she suddenly said before she turned towards the man in black who now stood beside her, watching the carriage. "In eighty years… this was the first time that I have seen the younger princess act like this. Zacharia… you let those people attacked her just after she drank the blood. You knew she was weak, and yet, you dared put your mistress in danger just because you don't like her." The old woman smiled. "I hope you will not regret it."
Zach only snorted in response. What can Lucinia do about it? He turned towards his own horse and followed Lucinia out of the property.
After a few minutes, Lucinia finally arrived at one of her older brother's residence. Unlike her small Castle, this one was luxurious. Enough to accommodate thirty people, the Castle stood near a cliff that would show the beautiful sunset every day.
While normal vampires won't be able to tolerate the sunlight, Lucinia and the rest of the royal household are actually immune to the sun. Some people say it was because their blood was pure, and some said that was only because they drank the blood of virgins.
Of course, neither of these were true. According to the legends, the Royal Family are immune to the sun because they once made a deal with the Vampire god. Lucinia had no idea what kind of deal was made or what was the consequences of the deal. But she knew that everyone in the Royal household except the Queen can tolerate the sun for some time.
Yes, the rumors about them being immune to the heat were not exactly true. Even the king himself can only show himself in the morning and afternoon and cannot really tolerate the heat of the sun during noon. Just like him, all of them cannot stay under the heat during noon for more than thirty minutes. Still, this was a secret that was not known to many people.
This was also the only rule that made Lucinia feel that she belonged to the Royal Family.
"Her highness Lucinia de Carinus has arrived!"
Lucinia didn't pay any attention to the man who announced her arrival. Of course, she didn't miss the mockery in the man's tone. However, she decided to deal with this later. Right now, she had more pressing concerns to take care of.
"Ah, Princess Lucinia… I wasn't expecting that you would come. Considering that you were injured by the rebels the last time that you attended a banquet."
"It seems that the Baron is not very happy to see me here?" Unlike her previous self, Lucinia didn't have a smile on her face. She looked at the Baron who was holding a glass of blood in his hands. Seeing the surprised look that the Baron was giving her, Lucinia smirked and walked towards the future princess consort.
"My dear Sister in law Lucinia," the woman wearing a huge purple gown stood from her seat and pulled her for a hug. "I am so glad to see you here. And this dress is just… gorgeous."
Lucinia only nodded in response, her eyes were already on her brothers and sisters who was smirking at her, probably planning how to embarrass her again.
"Princess Lucinia… have some blood first." One of the noble sitting next to her brother uttered. The woman was wearing a red dress with a low neckline that showed more than enough flesh. Of course, not many people minded this. This was, after all, considered normal for people like them.
Lucinia only smiled at the woman as she waited for the Princess Consort to let her go. "Blood…. " She uttered slowly and reached out to accept the exquisite wine glass from the woman in red. The princess consort also watched as Lucinia stared at the wine glass for a few seconds. "Miss Asprena must have forgotten one thing." She slowly moved the glass and watched as the scarlet liquid started to swirl in her hands before shifting her gaze to the woman in red. "I cannot drink blood. I can, however, use it to kill people." She smiled and watched as the blood in the woman's own wine glass started to boil.
….
I am slowly going back to my previous release schedule. I will do 2 chapters per day for Redemption and then 2 for Lazily Yours. From there, I will transition and see if I can do 3 chapters for one of the novels. Thank you for your support.
